February 15, 2011 Historian Regina Root Discusses “Couture and Consensus: Fashion and Politics in Postcolonial Argentina”

After Argentina proclaimed its independence from Spain in Buenos Aires in 1810, young patriots began expressing their desire for freedom and new ideas in innovative attire. Regina Root will discuss and sign her new book “Couture and Consensus: Fashion and Politics in Postcolonial Argentina” (University of Minnesota Press, 2010) on Monday, March 7, at noon in the Mary Pickford Theater, located on the third floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Avenue, S.E., Washington, D.C. The event is sponsored by the Library’s Hispanic Division and is free and open to the public. Argentina formed its national identity during the turbulent period of nation-building between 1829-1852, when the young country was ruled by the dictator Juan Manuel de Rosas. Root analyzes women’s changing fashions, military uniforms, the literature of that era and other cultural expressions against the political background. Root is associate professor of Hispanic studies at the College of William and Mary. Originally trained as a journalist, she earned a doctorate in Hispanic languages and literature at the University of California at Berkeley (1997). She specializes in environmental culture, fashion and media. She edited the book “The Latin American Fashion Reader” (Berg Publishers, 2005), which was awarded the Arthur P. Whitaker Prize by the Middle Atlantic Conference on Latin American Studies. The Hispanic Division, established in 1939, is the center for the study of the cultures and societies of Latin America, the Caribbean and the Iberian Peninsula and other areas with significant Spanish or Portuguese influence. For more information about the division’s resources and programs and the Luso-Hispanic and Caribbean collections of the Library, visit www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/. Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress is the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution. The Library serves the U.S. Congress and the nation both on-site in its reading rooms on Capitol Hill and through its award-winning website at www.loc.gov. Many of the Library’s rich resources and treasures may also be accessed via interactive exhibitions on a personalized website at myLOC.gov.